When to start exercise?

steffaneh

I just had my son almost 3 weeks ago and it is killing me to watch my tummy sloooowly melt away when I know there are things I could be doing (like exercise) to make it go away faster. I am nervous however about when to start working out because I don't want to overdo it and cause more harm then good. When did you guys start working out and what would you recommend starting out doing?

shawnjs

I wanted to start earlier than my doctor recommended but my husband was exercise nazi and made me wait (appropriately so:).   I had a vaginal delivery and wasn't allowed to exercise until 6 weeks but started walking (treadmill, high incline so great workout) at one month.  Ran at 6 weeks.

andinatep

First off, check with your doctor. If you had a c-section, it is usually 6 weeks before you can start working out at all. If you had a vaginal birth, the timeframe is usually sooner (as long as there were no issues during the birth). 

 If you haven't worked out before, start slow. I would say walking and yoga is a good place to start. If you have worked out and your doctor has given you the all-clear, go with something more intense, like HIIT workouts.

I started working out 6 weeks after my second c-section. I started with walking and step aerobics on the Wii. I've moved up to more intense programs. I am now 30 weeks with baby #3, and I already have my post-baby workout planned. I'm going to start walking and I'm also going to do TurboFire as soon as I get the ok from my doctor. :-) 

Angela814

I will be having c/s #3, so I think I'll have to wait longer. This is a good question for my OB. I never have anything to ask at my appointments, so hopefully I will remember for next week. DD2 has pre-school at the YMCA 2 days/week, so I'm hoping that by the time I'm able to drive, I'll be able to go and walk the track with DD3 in a sling while DD2 is in school.

Angela814

andinatep:

First off, check with your doctor. If you had a c-section, it is usually 6 weeks before you can start working out at all. If you had a vaginal birth, the timeframe is usually sooner (as long as there were no issues during the birth). 

 If you haven't worked out before, start slow. I would say walking and yoga is a good place to start. If you have worked out and your doctor has given you the all-clear, go with something more intense, like HIIT workouts.

I started working out 6 weeks after my second c-section. I started with walking and step aerobics on the Wii. I've moved up to more intense programs. I am now 30 weeks with baby #3, and I already have my post-baby workout planned. I'm going to start walking and I'm also going to do TurboFire as soon as I get the ok from my doctor. :-) 

I was actually trying to figure out today when my OB will let me go back to weight lifting after my c/s. I can tell some of the exercises I do will require too much core strength at first, but hopefully some will be okay. I'm also annoyed that I'm going to have to go back down on the amount of weight I lifted. It took me a year to get to where I am!

andinatep

Angela814:

andinatep:

First off, check with your doctor. If you had a c-section, it is usually 6 weeks before you can start working out at all. If you had a vaginal birth, the timeframe is usually sooner (as long as there were no issues during the birth). 

 If you haven't worked out before, start slow. I would say walking and yoga is a good place to start. If you have worked out and your doctor has given you the all-clear, go with something more intense, like HIIT workouts.

I started working out 6 weeks after my second c-section. I started with walking and step aerobics on the Wii. I've moved up to more intense programs. I am now 30 weeks with baby #3, and I already have my post-baby workout planned. I'm going to start walking and I'm also going to do TurboFire as soon as I get the ok from my doctor. :-) 

I was actually trying to figure out today when my OB will let me go back to weight lifting after my c/s. I can tell some of the exercises I do will require too much core strength at first, but hopefully some will be okay. I'm also annoyed that I'm going to have to go back down on the amount of weight I lifted. It took me a year to get to where I am!

 

I hear you on the weights. It took me a while to build up my strength, and I can tell I will have to start at a lower weight again.  I think I will be able to increase the weight more quickly this time since I will have muscle memory from my previous workouts.